Societal issues, clash of ideologies, fundamentalism, political engagement (or lack of it), organizational innovation, Leadership 2020, no matter what direction you look at, ‘it’s ideas, stupid’.
You see? To generate ideas has always been a bit dismissed in Old Corporate. Of course, people will say that this is rubbish, but it’s not. Old Corporate puts a premium on action, adrenaline, doing, meeting targets, outcomes, demonstrating effort and the rest. Ideas are presupposed, a sort of necessary evil that precedes those actions.
How many times you and I may have seen ‘the thinker’ in organizations as a sort of benign alien who hasn’t got their feet on the ground. ’He has grand ideas’ often meant not reliable, or not as much as the ones who ‘actually do the work’, or as some say, pay the bills.
However, clichéd or not, this is a Century of Ideas. Not that we are lacking in them, but we still need to put a premium on them. Idea capturing and sharing, knowledge acquisition, wisdom spread…they were, and are, the Holy Grail. Many people (individuals, groups, functions, line and staff groups) who claim to own new ideas, have in fact recycled old ones. Their ideas may travel with a spider’s web attached. The real new, new ones, may be just a bit frightening. But, who would be afraid of an old ‘well tried idea’?
We need new and fresh ideas all the time, as we need oxygen. Tell the ones who say that we need ‘less ideas and more action’ to join the Robotic Club. Tell the ones who say ‘good idea but’, to go butting somewhere else and dwell more on the idea without the ‘but’. Don’t be afraid of ideas because you may not know how to put them in action. It’s the wrong problem.
When you see ideas (sources, people, places, print, digital, blogs, public speaking, conversations, active brains, gatherings) get them. Make room. Open the doors. Welcome them and make them welcome. Always have spare ‘physical headcounts’, like spare rooms for those who may pop in at the door on their journeys.
I have never met a good CEO in my entire consulting life who, in front of an extraordinary individual says ‘sorry, I don’t have headcount for you’.
GE Capital, in India, has this sign: ‘Trespassers will be recruited’. This is the 21st Century threat that you can send around: competitors, markets, partners, associates, employees, potential employees. That is your four-word strategy for the future.
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For more thought provoking ideas….
Watch our Feed Forward Webinar Series [1]. Now available on demand.
WATCH our 5, free webinars as Dr Leandro Herrero and his team of organizational architects, debunk uncontested assumptions and uncover the alternatives, whilst considering why this is even more relevant today in the current exceptional environment.
Have your critical thinking brain, switched on. It’s a serious business. It may also be fun.
- The Myths of Change [1]
- Can you put your organization through an MRI? [1]
- The Myths of Company Culture [1]
- The Myths of Management [1]
- High tech, high touch in the digitalization era [1]
What attendees said:
‘Thank you for the opportunity to participate in this fantastic webinar. Both the depth of the discussion between Leandro and Carlos and the very intensive exchange in the chat inspired me.’
‘It was a great pleasure to participate in today’s webinar…. If you would have been sitting next to me, you would have seen a lot of ‘head nodding’ and heard a couple of loud ‘yes’es’ from the bottom of my heart.’
